Review: Nevernight

Destined to destroy empires, Mia Covere is only ten years old when she is given her first lesson in death.

Six years later, the child raised in shadows takes her first steps towards keeping the promise she made on the day that she lost everything.

But the chance to strike against such powerful enemies will be fleeting, so if she is to have her revenge, Mia must become a weapon without equal. She must prove herself against the deadliest of friends and enemies, and survive the tutelage of murderers, liars and demons at the heart of a murder cult.

The Red Church is no Hogwarts, but Mia is no ordinary student.

The shadows love her. And they drink her fear.

I found the writing a little odd at first, the language is quite flowers and although some of the footnotes are good fun, some are a bit dry. The plot more than makes up for this thought, and I flew through the chapter, quickly getting used to the style. The story moves quickly, with lots of twists, backstory and word-building woven through.

The Red Church’s school for assassins is fascinating and as complicated and as full of wonders as Hogwarts – I’d love to visit, if only it weren’t full of killers. The characters within its walls are just as wonderful, each one is different. Although I loved a lot of the characters, Mia is definitely my favourite. She’s a wonderful female character – complex and well-motivated, she manages to be both kind and completely ruthless. Tric is a wonderful character too, a believable male lead without the ‘love-interest’ part being overdone. He’s got his own story and doesn’t fall into either of the ‘perfect boyfriend’ or ‘bad-boy jerk’ traps. I’m really hoping he’ll somehow make another appearance.